Proportional valve that can be actuated electromagnetically

ABSTRACT

An electromagnetically actuatable proportional valve ( 10 ) includes a valve part ( 14 ) with an actuator that controls pressure fluid connections, an actuator solenoid ( 12 ), and with a set of control electronics ( 16 ), controls the activation of the coil. The control electronics ( 16 ) are flanged mounted onto the actuator solenoid ( 12 ) or the valve part ( 14 ) and is thereby exposed to mechanical and/or hydro-mechanical vibrations. In order to vibrationally decouple the control electronics ( 16 ) from the valve part ( 14 ) and/or the actuator solenoid ( 12 ) at least one vibration-damping means in the form of a damping plate ( 18 ) between these components and the control electronics ( 16 ) is provided.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention is based on an electromagnetically actuatable proportionalvalve. Proportional valves of this kind are used, for example, aspressure controllers or flow regulators in hydraulic control circuits.

An electromagnetically actuatable proportional valve is already known,for example, from DE 38 29 992 A1. This known proportional valve iscomprised of an actuator solenoid with a coil and armature, a valve partwith a movably guided actuator that can be acted on by the armature, anda set of control electronics for controlling the activation of thearmature by means of the coil. The control electronics are flangemounted to the housing of the actuator solenoid. Mechanical and/orhydro-mechanical vibrations that are produced, for example, by pumps andtheir pressure pulsations or by the switching processes of adjacentswitching devices, are transmitted via the housing of the actuatorsolenoid to the wired components, the lines, and the plug connectors ofthe control electronics. The accelerations that occur can increase thestresses on these components, causing damage that in the extreme casecan lead to the total failure of the control electronics. So that theelectronic components withstand these vibrations, complex measures aretaken, for example the components are cast or glued in place during theproduction of the control electronics. Such measures, however, arecostly and often insufficient.

A SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An electromagnetically actuatable proportional valve has the advantageover the prior art that the transmission paths of the vibrations to thecontrol electronics are interrupted or at least damped. The measuresexplained above for vibration-proof anchoring of electronic componentsto the circuit substrates can therefore be reduced and under somecircumstances, entirely eliminated.

Other advantages or advantageous modifications of the invention ensuefrom the dependent claims and the specification. For example, embodyingvibration-damping means in the form of a damping plate achieves aparticularly high degree of effectiveness and a simultaneouslyinexpensive manufacture and simple operation. Disposing the fasteningdevices one above the other on the fastening flanges also permits adamping plate to be retrofitted onto existing electromagneticallyactuatable proportional valves. In addition, the anchoring of thedamping plate requires only a minimum of space.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

Exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown in the drawings andwill be explained in detail in the subsequent description.

FIG. 1 shows a perspective representation of an electromagneticallypresettable proportional valve embodied according to the invention,

FIG. 2 shows several views of a damping plate as a separate part,

FIG. 3 shows a second exemplary embodiment for a damping plate, likewisein several different views.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The electromagnetically actuatable proportional valve 10 according toFIG. 1 is a structural unit comprised of an actuator solenoid 12, avalve part 14 connected to it with the aid of tie bolts 13, and a set ofcontrol electronics 16. The control electronics 16 are attached to aside surface of the actuator solenoid 12 by means of screws 17. Betweenthe two components, a damping plate 18 is provided, which vibrationallydecouples the actuator solenoid 12 from the control electronics 16. Thedesign of the damping plate 18 is shown in two exemplary embodiments indifferent views in FIGS. 2 and 3.

FIG. 2.1 shows the damping plate 18 from underneath, i.e. from its sideoriented toward the actuator solenoid 12. A first fastening flange 20 isshown, which is provided to embody a frame piece with a central opening22. The fastening flange 20 is preferably made of metal and isessentially rectangular in its external form. In the vicinity of thecorners of this external form, grooves 24 are provided, which opentoward the outside, extend along the diagonal of the fastening flange20, and have rounded ends. The width of the groove 24 is matched to thediameter of the shaft of the fastening screws, which are inserted intothe grooves 24 from the outside in order to anchor the damping plate 18to the actuator solenoid 12 (FIG. 1). The edge regions around thegrooves 24 thus serve to support the screw heads.

FIG. 1 indicates the outer contour of an elastomer part 26, depicting itwith dashed lines because it is only indirectly visible in this view,which is vulcanized onto the side of the fastening flange 20 orientedaway from the plane of the drawing. This elastomer part 26 protrudespartly into the opening 22 and constitutes a circumferential collar 28that protrudes beyond the fastening flange 20 and seals the partingplane between the actuator solenoid 12 and the damping plate 18. In thevicinity of the comers, the elastomer part 26 is provided with recessesso that the grooves 24 of the damping plate 18 are left unobstructed.

The top view of the damping plate 18 depicted in FIG. 2.2 shows a secondfastening flange 30, which is disposed on the opposite side of theelastomer part 26 from the first fastening flange 20 and is likewisevulcanized onto the elastomer part 26. As a result of this connection,the two fastening flanges 20 and 30 can move in relation to each otherso that vibrations, which are introduced into the system by the firstfastening flange 20 are transmitted to the second fastening flange 30 ina sharply damped form, if at all. The outer contours of the twofastening flanges 20, 30 are congruent and threaded sleeves 32 areprovided in the vicinity of the comers of the second fastening flange30. These threaded sleeves are placed concentric to the rounded ends ofthe grooves 24 of the first fastening flange 20 and are likewiseaccommodated in recesses in the elastomer part 26. The threaded sleeves32 are advantageously connected to the second fastening flange 30 bymeans of caulking. They abut the second fastening flange 30 and extendtoward the first fastening flange 20 without touching it. This assuresthe relative mobility of the fastening flanges 20, 30. Between the endof the threaded sleeves 32 and the first fastening flange 20, a space isleft, which is greater than the height of the screw head of a screwaccommodated in the groove 24 of the first fastening flange 20.

The second fastening flange 30 is oriented toward the controlelectronics 16, which are anchored to the damping plate 18 by screws,which are screwed into the threaded sleeves 32. Before thisscrew-mounting procedure takes place, the screws accommodated in thegrooves 24 of the first testing flange 20 must be screwed into the screwthreads provided for them in the actuator solenoid 12 by means of a toolthat is not shown. Advantageously, a tool can be used for this, whichcan be inserted through the core hole of the threaded sleeves 32 of thesecond fastening flange 30.

The concentric placement of grooves 20 in relation to the threadedsleeves 32 in connection with a screw-mounting procedure that takesplace through the opening of the threaded sleeves 32 achieves aparticularly space-saving design of the damping plate 18. In addition,this permits a damping plate 18 of this kind to be retrofitted ontoexisting electromagnetically actuatable proportional valves 10.

The cross section through the damping plate 18, which is depicted inFIG. 2.3 and runs along the sectional line A—A according to FIG. 1,shows that the fastening flanges 20 and 30 are comprised of anglesections. These angle sections are disposed point-symmetrically oppositeeach other and with their legs, at least partially define the inner andouter contours of the damping plate 18. The intermediary space betweenthe two angle sections is filled by the elastomer part 26 so that thedamping plate 18 as a whole has a solid rectangular cross section.Naturally, the fastening flanges 20, 30 are not limited to theequal-sided angle sections shown. If need be, hollow spaces can also beprovided in the elastomer part 26 whose shape and disposition can beused to influence the elasticity of the elastomer part 26 in a mannerspecific to the intended use.

Furthermore, instead of being made of angle sections, the fasteningflanges 20, 30 can also be made of flat band material. FIG. 3 shows anembodiment of this kind. This second embodiment differs from theabove-described first embodiment also in that instead of the grooves 24in the fastening flange 20, through openings 34 are provided on the sideoriented toward the actuator solenoid 12. These through openings 34 areembodied in the region of the first fastening flange 20 enclosed insidethe elastomer part 26 and this fastening flange 20 has an opening 22,which is correspondingly smaller in size than in the first exemplaryembodiment. In order to anchor the control electronics 16 onto thedamping plate 18, threaded sleeves 32 are likewise provided in the comerregions of the second fastening flange 30, but are not shown in FIG. 3.

Naturally, other changes or additions to the exemplary embodimentsdescribed above are possible without venturing beyond the scope of theinvention.

What is claimed is:
 1. An electromagnetically actuatable proportionalvalve (10) comprised of an actuator solenoid (12), a valve part (14)built onto the actuator solenoid for controlling pressure fluidconnections, and a set of control electronics (16), which is flangemounted onto the actuator solenoid (12) or the valve part (14) andcontrols the activation of the actuator solenoid, wherein at least onevibration-damping means (18) is provided between the control electronics(16) and the actuator solenoid (12) and/or the valve part (14), whereinthe vibration-damping means is a damping plate (18) comprised of (20,30) and an elastomer part (26), wherein said elastomer part is disposedbetween the two fastening flanges (20, 30) and is anchored to them. 2.The electromagnetically actuatable proportional valve according to claim1, wherein the fastening flanges (20, 30) are made of metal and that theelastomer part (26) is vulcanized onto these fastening flanges (20, 30).3. The electromagnetically actuatable proportional valve according toclaim 1, wherein the two fastening flanges (20, 30) are comprised offrame parts constituted by angle sections, wherein said angle sectionsare disposed point-symmetrically in relation to each other and definethe contour of the damping plate (18).
 4. The electromagneticallyactuatable proportional valve according to claim 1, wherein thefastening flanges (20, 30) have an essentially rectangular external formand are provided in the vicinity of their corners with fastening devices(24, 32), and that the elastomer part (26) has recessed in the vicinityof these corners.
 5. The electromagnetically actuatable proportionalvalve according to claim 4, wherein the fastening devices orientedtoward the control electronics (16) are threaded sleeves (32) into whichscrews can be inserted for fastening the damping plate (18) to thecontrol electronics (16) and that the fastening devices oriented towardthe actuator solenoid (12) or the valve part (14) are groves (24) thatextend diagonally and are open toward the circumference, into whichscrews can be inserted radially from the outside in order to anchor thedamping plate (18) to the actuator solenoid (12) or the valve part (14).6. The electromagnetically actuatable proportional valve according toclaim 5, wherein the width of the groove (24) is matched to the shaftdiameter of the screws to be inserted, wherein the end of the groove(24) is rounded, and wherein the depth of the groove (24) is of such asize that the screw heads, in an end position, are positionedessentially concentric to the opposing threaded sleeves (32), withouttouching the opposing threaded sleeves.
 7. The electromagneticallyactuatable proportional valve according to claim 6, wherein in order toactuate the screws for anchoring the first fastening flange 920) to theactuator solenoid (12) or the valve part (14), a tool is provided, whenwherein the tool can be inserted through the core hole of the threadedsleeves (32) of the second fastening flange (30).
 8. Theelectromagnetically actuatable proportional valve according to claim 1,wherein the proportional valve (10) controls hydraulic pressure fluid.